Rockford swept by Class 3A No. 6-ranked Green Devils
Rockford middle hitter Kayla Carroll (No. 8) looks for an opening to place a third hit while being defending by Osage’s Sydney Midland (No. 3).
By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com
OSAGE — More than several provincial-vested NFL fans were reminded this past weekend that any given team can win on any given Sunday.
So maybe any given volleyball team can win on any given Tuesday.
The Rockford Warriors may not have been exactly 16 ½-point underdogs for their road match against Top of Iowa-East opponent Osage, but they had their work cut out for them.
The Green Devils were currently undefeated in TOIE play and are ranked No. 6 in Class 3A according the latest rankings released by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union — Osage has been ranked as high as No. 3 this season.
But it was the Warriors who came out smoking in the first set. Mackenzie LaCoste assisted a kill by Jamie Schuster to put Rockford up 6-3 early.
Yet you knew the Green Devils were going to hit back … and hit back hard.
The Green Devils wound up sweeping the match (25-13, 25-14, 25-21) while improving to 14-4 overall and 7-0 in the TOIE.
The Warriors fell to 9-9 and 3-4.
Watching Osage go through its pre-game hitting drill is like watching the MLB All-Star Game Home Run Derby. It’s an impressive and resounding display.
It was only a matter of time before Osage was going to carry that over to real game time.
A series of “lookout-above-and-below” kills by sophomore Danielle Johnson helped give the Green Devils a 17-11 lead in the first set before the team pulled away even more.
A blocking kill by senior Rylie Olson and an ace by Meredith Street gave Osage some distance in the second set (15-7) after Rockford pulled within 5.
Kills by Sydney Midland and Johnson gave the Green Devils a commanding 19-10 lead in the third set before the Warriors rallied.
LaCoste assisted a kill by senior Morgan Thiemann to draw Rockford a little closer (21-16), then a hitting kill and a blocking kill by Kayla Carroll got the Warriors within striking distance at 23-21.
“I am really proud of the way we played tonight,” Rockford coach Hannah Kemp said. “We did not get down on ourselves or our teammates. They came together and played as a team.”
Rockford won’t be back in action until next Tuesday (Oct. 2) when it will host North Butler during Senior Night.
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